Chapter 29: Setting the Stage

"Not at all," Li Huowang began, asking about what concerned him most. "Elder, if I may ask, are there any well-known sects around here? Perhaps one suitable for someone like me?"

"Oh, yes! Absolutely! There's a Buddhist temple in Xijing City. I hear the Buddhas there are incredibly effective for those seeking children!"

A Buddhist temple? Li Huowang recalled Danyangzi mentioning once being hunted by monks, and he wondered if this was the same temple.

Li Huowang made a mental note of this. After all, anyone who opposed Danyangzi, that man-eating monster, had to be a good person.

"But, young Taoist master," the elder interjected, "you're a Taoist. Wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate for you to visit a Buddhist temple?"

Li Huowang looked down at his Taoist robe. The elder's words had indeed given him pause; perhaps it was time to change his clothes, as he wasn't a true Taoist anyway.

"Elder," Li Huowang steered the conversation, "how has your business been lately? Still doing alright?"

Sensing Li Huowang was trying to change the subject, Master Lu quickly picked up the conversation.

"Ah, 'alright' you say?" Master Lu sighed. "This region has seen a great drought followed by a massive flood. In these times, ordinary people have no money, and even fewer are willing to pay for plays or tips. Even the wealthy are too stingy to hire a troupe for funerals; they just hold a simple feast and call it a day. Bah! How unfilial!"

"It will pass," Li Huowang said reassuringly. "Things will improve once these difficult years are behind us."

"Indeed," Master Lu replied, "we'll just have to tough it out. We always find a way to get by, don't we?"

"I often think," Master Lu mused, "if times get better, I'll put in hundreds more trips. When I, an old man, have saved enough, I'll buy a theater in Xijing City, one that truly belongs to my Lu family. Heh, then I could die in peace."

"With our own theater, my son and granddaughter won't have to suffer out here like me anymore. They can stay home and study diligently. Who knows, in a few years, a top scholar might emerge from our Lu family, making our ancestral graves smoke with pride! By then..." Master Lu chuckled foolishly, holding his pipe.

Li Huowang listened quietly to Master Lu's grand visions for the future. He actually envied him quite a bit; to live to such an old age and still have a clear goal to strive for.

With Li Huowang and Master Lu leading the conversation, the atmosphere between the two groups significantly lightened.

At least Scholar Lu and Student Lu no longer regarded Gouwa and the others as spirits. They now understood that these were just people suffering from a severe illness.

What could be done about illness? Everyone got sick. They were all just unfortunate souls.

By the time they arrived at Wuligang, Luo Juanhua had grown comfortable enough with Bai Lingmiao to allow her to hold her daughter.

Standing on the flat ground used for drying rice, Master Lu looked at the villagers eating dinner under the eaves. "Alright," he announced, "Wuligang has many people, so let's set up our show here. The Lu Family Troupe is open for business! Get the stage set up!"

Since they were going to perform, Li Huowang decided not to rush off. Everyone was tired after such a long journey, and this would be a good opportunity for the others to rest.

Li Huowang wasn't particularly interested in this ancient form of entertainment, but it was clear that the others were very curious and rushed over to lend a hand.

Tall bamboo poles, cut and propped up, held several large red cloths, and the stage was quickly beginning to take shape.

Li Huowang was catching up on sleep, lying on a pile of golden rice stalks in the field, when he suddenly felt someone poke his nose. He opened his eyes to find a smiling Bai Lingmiao.

She held up both hands, and a gleaming golden object appeared before Li Huowang. "Senior Brother Li, look!" she exclaimed excitedly. "What a bright bronze mirror! It shows people so clearly! The actors use these to apply their makeup!"

"It's not even dark yet," Li Huowang began, "and you've already taken off your blindfold. Aren't you afraid of—"

Li Huowang's words abruptly stopped. He stared, stunned, at his reflection in the bronze mirror. The person looking back at him was utterly unfamiliar.

"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong?" Bai Lingmiao sensed something was amiss.

"Junior Sister Bai," Li Huowang asked, hesitantly touching his face, "did I look like this when I was at Qingfeng Temple?"

"Yes, you've always looked this way," she replied. "What's wrong? Does something in the mirror seem different to you?"

Li Huowang lowered his hand from his face and reached out towards his reflection in the bronze mirror. It was still his face.

But he was no longer a mere youth; he hadn't just arrived in this world, he had been here for quite some time.

"If what happened at the hospital was real, then I was probably seventeen at most back then," he thought. "So how old am I now?"

Li Huowang could pose the question, but he had no answer. Along with his fragmented memories, he had also lost his sense of his own age.

He could only roughly estimate from his appearance that he was likely not yet thirty.

Li Huowang desperately searched his chaotic memories, but still came up empty.

"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong?" Bai Lingmiao asked, her expression growing tense at his reaction. "Are you alright? Don't scare me."

"I'm fine," Li Huowang reassured her, "just thinking about some things. Quickly return the bronze mirror to them; the Lu family will need it soon for their performance."

"Okay," Bai Lingmiao replied, hugging the bronze mirror and running towards the back of the newly erected stage.

"Yiyi~~ ahhh~~" Li Huowang heard the distant vocal warm-ups of Scholar Lu and gave a self-deprecating smile. He lay back down on the pile of rice stalks. "Sigh... my life truly feels like a joke."

He had expected a more intense emotional reaction, but to his surprise, he felt remarkably calm. Now, he simply had one more goal: to discover his true age.

As night fell, the sky was cloudless, and the bright moon hung high, clearly illuminating the simple stage.

News of the troupe's arrival had spread, and almost everyone from Wuligang had gathered.

For farmers, whose daily lives typically involved nothing more than tilling fields and sleeping, a theatrical performance was incredibly enticing, offering a rare form of entertainment.

The Lu family troupe was quite small, with only six members in total, not counting a two-year-old who couldn't yet speak.

With members needed for instruments, singing, acting, and makeup, they were constantly busy and simply couldn't manage everything. So, they had to scale back some elements of their performance.

Fortunately, the villagers weren't picky. They sat on their own brought stools, watching with great interest.

Li Huowang and the others lay on the piles of rice stalks, watching from a distance as the troupe performed, their voices soaring with "yiyi ah-ah." He had never heard an opera before and didn't know which play they were performing.

He only recognized Master Lu, with his painted black face, a flowing beard, and a Guan Dao prop. At his age, he was singing and 'chopping' on stage, looking incredibly dedicated.

"Bravo!!!" A sudden cheer erupted, startling Li Huowang.

As the performances continued, the entire rice-drying ground became packed. On stage, the Lu family members performed, drenched in sweat, while the audience below watched with flushed faces. Only Li Huowang remained an impassive observer.

Before they knew it, the moon was high in the sky, and the Lu family troupe's performance was drawing to a close.

Just then, Li Huowang saw Master Lu's daughter-in-law, still in makeup and dressed in ragged clothes, come onto the stage with a tear-streaked face, carrying her daughter and a straw basket.

"My cruel uncle drove me out~~"

"Like a lone wild goose, aimlessly drifting~ ah ah ah~"

"Like wild grass by the roadside, trampled by all~ ah ah"

"My daughter and I are hungry and cold, truly unbearable~ truly~ un~bear~able~~"

"Can only beg for food in the street~"

As she sang this, Luo Juanhua subtly pinched her two-year-old daughter's bottom, and the child immediately began to wail, perfectly on cue.